However, 27 U.S. states have never had a female governor, and no
woman has ever served as president, according to the Center for
American Women and Politics (CAWP) at Rutgers University. The first
female governor was Nellie Tayloe Ross (D-Wyo.), who became the state’s
leader in 1925, according to CAWP.

Additionally, the House of Representatives only has 73 women in its
435 seats, and the
Senate only has 17 women in its 100 seats. That means the U.S. has a
lower percentage of women in its legislature than 69 other countries,
including Iraq, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Venezuela and Cuba, according to
the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). However, the U.S. does have a
higher proportion of women in its government than North Korea, by 1
percent, according to IPU.

“Between 1789 and today, the best we've ever done is right now,” said
Victoria A. Budson, the executive director of the Women and Public
Policy Program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
“When one looks at us and sees that we're 70th in the world, what's
important to see is that as other countries more effectively utilize
their talent pool, the U.S. is dropping."

A high incumbency rate for elected officials in the U.S. helps
perpetuate a gender imbalance, Budson said. In elections for open seats,
when challengers run against another new candidate, women
win elections at the same rate as men, Budson said.

But yesterday's primaries do indicate that the male dominance in U.S.
politics may be shifting, Budson said.

"Hillary
Clinton, bar none, is the most serious presidential candidate in
the history of the United States who’s female. And Sarah
Palin is the first time the Republican Party has nominated a woman
for Executive office. So there's no doubt this is a sea-change in
American Politics,” Budson told Life’s Little Mysteries. “However, gains
of the past do not guarantee what the landscape of the future will look
like.”

Stuart Fox

Stuart Fox currently researches and develops physical and digital exhibit experiences at the Science Liberty Center. His news writing includes the likes of several Purch sites, including Live Science and Live Science's Life's Little Mysteries.